okamikai

HGs & Engine Overhaul @ 167,500

The only problem I've had afterwards was with the valve covers; one of the threads gave up on torque and it leaked oil, plus I hit a stump and the pan is now leaking from the seal, but besides the leak and the burnt oil smell she runs like a devil, although its been sputtering a little when I accelerate on take offs, I think it may be the fuel pump

I did this job about two years ago on my Forester S 1998 with the dreaded EJ25D, and I've had no problems whatsoever with it again. I took the chance and overhauled the entire engine which cost me around $250 for ACL brand Engine Bearings, I had to replace pistons, but it was my fault, nothing to do with HG. The entire seal kit for the engine cost me around $150 and it included original Subaru HGs (newer version), also did Timing Belt, Water Pump, Tensioners and Idlers, and ALL coolant hoses; all this for around $235 being the timing belt kit the most expensive. Did all the job myself, except Head reconditioning which was another $250 ($125x2), that and some special tools needed for the job it all came down to a around $1,000, but no regrets the car runs great, she's got minor issues, but in over all great car.

Welcome, I'm sure you'll find anything you need to know here

There is a replacement for these gaskets on ebay, I found it the other day, some of the members here may know about it, its 100% stainless steel so it shouldn't be affected by rust issues caused by the factory defect, I will be buying one of these to put in my engine as soon as they give up on me. Here's the item, there are a few more, but make sure they are stainless steel of other rust resistant material. http://www.ebay.com/itm/COMETIC-C4264-027-HEAD-GASKET-100MM-027-FOR-SUBARU-EJ25D-EJ251-2458CC-2-5L/121024873762?_trksid=p2047675.m2109&_trkparms=aid%3D555012%26algo%3DPW.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D18241%26meid%3D2526473997350253807%26pid%3D100010%26prg%3D8344%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D15%26sd%3D231057871166%26#ht_3756wt_997

Wheel Bearings, I thought it sounded like that, if the boots were broken hard dust particles can mix with the grease and grind those bearings down really fast. Hub play is an indication of wheel bearing wear.

Well, to answer to the question about turbo foresters, yes there are, but not on the 98-99 range, I've only seen one STI model from 2000, looks just like mine, but in white and with different tail lights. I was told at the local dealership that MTs and Turbo models were not introduced to the local market because it was promoted as a family vehicle, and not as a sports car, mine's an import from Nevada that I bought for 3k at a local dealer, with the head gasket issue brewing up. For Fox, the chrome thing is actually brought by Dominicans, chrome fashion died with the 70's, LED fashion is a total blow out, school buses and tow trucks look like freaking x-mas trees, and yes at some time in history we held the title of the fastest compact car in drag racing, Ms. Sakura, a mean 92' Mirage, that and transforming Accents into rockets

Even if they are original HGs? the ones in my EJ25D are original subaru, the metal ones. I had to replace pistons to forged .020 (100mm) cuz I had to bore the cylinders.

I was thinking the same, can the wiring be done using schematics?

I was fearing the same, you should fix this soon; water in the oil can do some serious damage to the engine. the sooner you do this the less it will cost, it cost me around 1,200 dollars because I had to rebuild the entire engine and replace the pistons, and that was me doing the labor. Original gaskets can be around 85 to 95 dollars; repairing, porting, and polishing the heads would cost around 125 dollars for each, change the timing belt (if you haven't done it), kits are sold for around 250 dollars which include everything you need to install it. I hope you can get your car fixed soon.

It sounds as if you are dragging something, check the rotos for scoring

I found this page on Google, and got this info on a JDM Turbocharged EJ20 from a Legacy RS 97-98. My Forester is 1998 and uses a EJ25D, what do I need to do to accomodate this engine in my car? Is it better to install this one, or should I just install a turbocharger and intercooler on my existing engine? http://www.jdmenginedepot.com/jdm_engine_details/203/Subaru_EJ20_Legacy_RS_&_GT-B_Turbo_(11/96)_JDM_EJ20

I'm having a similar issue with my Forester, but when I'm finally done putting gas the car will shut off right after I turn it on, as if the fuel line had emptied. After a few atempts it will rev up and down until it stabilizes, which takes around 2 mins total, still trying to figure it out...

If the coolant in the radiator is cold with the engine running the thermostat must be stuck, you should avoid driving it like that, the excess heat may warp the heads, the job isn't as hard as you think. DO NOT DO THIS JOB WITH THE ENGINE HOT, WAIT TILL IT COOLS DOWN! USE SAFETY GLASSES! - Remove the radiator cap and locate the drain plug on the radiator. Remove the coolant (don't toss old coolant down the drain, its ILLEGAL), if you haven't changed the coolant in a long time, do so, old coolant looses its anti-rust chemical properties. - The thermostat should be located at the end of the inlet water hose that goes to the pump, looking from below to your left, you should see the inlet hose attached to the inlet fitting with a hose clamp. You should be able to remove the clamp with a flat head screwdriver. There may be coolant left in the hose and in the engine, when you remove the hose try not to let it fall on you. - The inlet fitting should be screwed in with two 10mm bolts, remove the inlet fitting to expose the thermostat; you should be able to pry it out with the screw driver. At this point you can perform a test on the thermostat, If you wish. You can do this with a lighter of with hot water. Heat the center brass piece of the thermostat and watch if the valve moves, if it does you have a working one, if not, garbage it. - Install the new thermostat (OEM or Original, no cheaps), don't forget the new O-ring, I recommend you use grey silicone to put between the mating surfaces of the inlet fitting and the water pump inlet; make sure NO silicone residues are left inside the inlet or the thermostat. - Tighten the bolts evenly, this will make the silicone set proportionate and will avoid the O-ring from setting down oddly. Wait at least 2 hours to allow the silicone to dry before you put new coolant in the radiator. - Reattach the hose with the hose clamp and refill coolant, make sure to massage the water hoses to remove any air bubbles, to complete this step you may need to run the engine for a few seconds without the radiator cap on so the air bubbles can come out, repeat as necessary until no air bubbles come out. Hopefully this will solve your problem, good luck with the project.

If you like to take the risk of the bolts breaking on torquing then be my guest, I rather use new unpunished ones.

Are the fans working properly? Is the coolant level proper? Air bubbles can make the temp gauge raise and then drop when the coolant passes. Check all cooling lines an hoses; they can crack as they get older and could leak near the fittings. Good Luck

oh no, I forgot to mention that I already have an 5SPD MT, i just wanted to know if the swap could be made and if it would make any difference in speed and acceleration, I should have mentioned it before

wow what a goldmine, I'm screwed if I need parts like that, there are no Subaru salvage anythings here :/

I read here somewhere that Subaru had made a revised version of the gaskets, how true is this?

Sounds like a bad Cam Head gasket, same thing happened to mine, it puked coolant through the bottle and it was barely noticiable, until I left it idle with the hood open and watch as the magic happened, the reason you are not seeing it on the exhaust its because it hasn't broken through completely. Do a compression test on all cylinders to rule this out, but it's very likely that it is a bad head gasket. The overflow tank would only leak if it was all the way full when the overflow happens, but it would not cause severe loss of coolant like that. When compression leaks into the cooling canals of the engine it will create excesive pressure on the cooling system, and since the overflow tank only has a plastic cap it becomes the weakest point, thus the coolant will be expelled. The gauge thing is because of hot air inside the flow of coolant, since coolant has been lost gaps of hot air will make the sensor read high temps, and lower temps when the coolant passes, until eventually there's not enough coolant to bring the temp down. Trust me these engines heat up really fast without proper levels of coolant. CHECK ALL THE WATER HOSES THEY MAY BE CRACKED TOO, OR TOO OLD TO HANDLE NEW PRESSURE BUILD UP! - Cylinder Pressure Check (Very Important) - Check Hoses by pressing them and hear for crackling noise - Change Radiator Cap it may be bad - If there's no coolant to reach heater it will not heat up If Cam Head Gasket is Bad - Repair cam heads as they can warp do to excesive heat - Change Water Pump, Timing Belt and tensioner, and idler pulleys - Cam head Bolts must be changed, DO NOT USE THE OLD ONES!! - Find if there is a revised version of the Head Gasket to avoid the problem from happening again I hope everything goes well, I advise to do this because you may damage the engine severely if not attended ASAP, good luck...

Thx a lot bro, the chart it's really helpful, there few options with the 4.444 Final Gear, ones that caught my attention are the TY752VB6SZ from the 22B Impreza and the TY752VB6EA with Helical LSD, are these fully compatible with mine? its the same year

Hey guys, this may have been asked before, but I need coaching on this. I have a 98 Forester with a EJ25D and I want to change my transmission for a 5 spd or 6 spd from an Impreza. I've read about the differential ratios and final gear ratios had to match, so what could my options be?

Well, repairing the cam heads is kind of less troublesome than making a swap, also 2.0 is meant for turbo; you will have less power if you don't install the turbo hardware, if you got the cash and the time then go ahead and do the swap, otherwise fix the cam heads, head gaskets, and head bolts so you can have a running car while you work with the 2.0. Always good to have it running, other than leaving you stranded when you most need it

Sounds like it could be a bad or clogged injector, you should rule that out. A clogged injector will send poor fuel pressure into the cylinder, this could cause a misfire and a blinking CEL. Also, did you try changing the wires, spark plugs, and Ignition Module(s)? Its not an expensive job and may clear many doubts.

Foresters didn't have step from factory, just the second color panel, it may have been possible that the late owner had installed a step on it. Great car you are buying, love her and she will love you back